I’m surprised this is the canonical text on this concept, the aesthetics of darkness. The idea that shadows are appreciated in Japan serves as one of those ‘aha!’ moments and leads to endless re-examination of what you know. Nevertheless as the afterword notes, the essay meanders. Harper asserts that this is ‘stream of conscious’ esque and a style that is uniquely Japanese, I think it’s mediocre writing. Also difficult to consider the logical steps of an essay that begins by mourning that the Japanese people didn’t remain isolated for hundreds of years more (in poverty) to develop their own fridges, planes, etc.